The Latest: Iranian TV journalist not accused of crime

A prominent American-born anchorwoman on Iranian state television who has been jailed in the U.S. has not been accused of any crime.

Marzieh Hashemi has been detained as a material witness, though it's unclear for which case.

US - District - Court - Judge - Order

She has appeared twice before a U.S. District Court judge, according to an order Friday to partially unseal information about her case.

She was detained by federal agents on Sunday in St. Louis and transported to Washington and has been in custody since then.

Officials - Testimony

Officials said she was expected to be released immediately after her testimony is completed, but it's not clear when that would be.

Her son, Hossein Hashemi says his mother would have been willing to cooperate with the FBI and did not need to be jailed as a material witness.

Hossein - Mother - FBI - St - Louis

Hossein said that his mother had not been contacted by the FBI before she was stopped in St. Louis and taken into custody earlier this week.

Hashemi, his brother and sister have been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury.

One - Family - Marzieh - Hashemi - Material

He says no one in his family can fathom why Marzieh Hashemi would be considered a material witness for federal investigators. The 59-year-old hasn't been charged with a crime.

Federal law allows judges to order witnesses to be detained if the government can prove their testimony has extraordinary value for a criminal case and that they would be a flight risk and unlikely to respond to a subpoena.

Statute - Witnesses

The statute generally requires those witnesses to be promptly released once they are deposed.

The order to unseal some parts of her case came days after she was first detained. It did not include details on the criminal case in which she was...